Fluid nozzle for texturing yarns



May 7, 1968 G. E. BENSON 3,381,346

FLUID NOZZLE FOR TEXTURING YARNS Original Filed Oct. 50, 1964 605m/ E.BEA/50N.

United States Patent O FLUID NOZZLE FOR TEXTURING YARNS Gustav E.Benson, Greenville, RJ., assignor to Owens- Corning FiberglasCorporation, a corporation of Delaware Continuation of application Ser.No. 407,758, Oct. 30, 1964. This application June 20, 1967, Ser. No.647,571 4 Claims. (Cl. 281) BSTRACT 0F THE DISCLOSURE This applicationis a continuation of application S.N. 407,758, tiled Oct. 30, 1964 andnow abandoned.

This invention relates to an improved apparatus for bulking or texturingcontinuous filament or staple yarns by means of iiuid treatment and themethod of 'fabricating this apparatus. More particularly, this inventionrelates to an improved yarn texturing jet and a method of fabricatingthe same in which the dimensional relationships of the variouscomponents thereof may be closely controlled and in which eachtexturizing jet Within a given series may be made with substantiallyidentical dimensions.

Fabrics comprised of bulked or textured yarn of almost any syntheticmaterial including glass fibers have met with considerable commercialacceptance due to their increased insulating properties, novel textureand other improved properties. The basic process of bulking or texturingyarn by passing it through a confined zone of turbulent fluid, such asair, is fully described in United States Patent 2,852,906. This processhas been successfully used with yarns, untwisted strands and even staplefibers. It is to be understood that the term yarns as hereinafter usedis intended to include both twisted and untwisted continuous fibers aswell as staple bers.

A major diiculty encountered in the commercial production of suchtextured yarns is in controlling product uniformity between yarnstextured by different texturing jets. Variations in the textured yarnsproduced by different jets, which adversely affect the appearance andperformance of a product using such yarns, are caused by (1) variationsin the relationship of the rate of feed of untextured yarn to the jet tothe take-up rate from the texturing jet, (2) by variations in airpressure supplied to the jet, and (3) by minute variations in thedimensional relationship of `component parts of the jet (such as thedistance of the tip of the yarn needle from the restricted orifice,venturi size and shape, needle size and shape, and axial alignment ofthe needle with respect to the venturi). It has been found that theselatter dimensional relationships critically aiiect performance characteristics of the jet. For instance, it has been determined that avariation as small at .010 inch in the distance between the axis of theyarn needle and the axis of the jet orifice or venturi may increase ordecrease the airflow through the jet by as much as fty percent.

While some texturing jets of the prior art include provision for manualadjustment of the axial distance between the yarn needle tip and theventuri throat so as to enable the operator of the texturizing apparatusto obice tain an acceptable textured product, use of such adjustment hasnot been entirely satisfactory due to the fact that the yarn needle tipand orifice distance is of such a critical nature. For instance, intexturing jets of the type disclosed in U.S. Patent 2,852,906, in whichthe cap of the yarn needle is threaded upon the body of the jet and theaxial `distance between the restricted orifice and the tip of the yarnneedle is `changed by rotation of the yarn needle cap, it has been found'that it is necessary to provide a locking mechanism, such as a setscrew on the cap threads, to insure that the adjustment will notaccidentally be disturbed during the operation of the texturizingapparatus. While such locking means may be satisfactory to preventaccidental rotation of the cap after it has been set, it has furtherbeen found that the slight amount of clearance required between thethreaded surfaces of the yarn needle cap and the jet body permits asmall amount of tilting or cocking of the axis of the yarn needle inrelation to the axis of the restricted jet oriiice when the set screw orlocking means is tightened. As previously stated, the relationship`between the axes of the venturi and the yarn needle is critical.Therefore, a considerable amount of experimentation is necessary tofinally set the cap screw at the optimum position and lock it there, dueto the fact that the tightening of the locking device changes theinitially adjusted position of the cap.

Another inherent disadvantage in a manually adjustable type of jet justdescribed is that, due to the fact that the yarn needle and the venturimust be periodically cleaned, reassembly after such cleaningnecessitates the relocation and readjustment to optimum operatingpositions of the yarn needle in relation to the venturi. Therefore, in atexturing installation having a plurality of such texturing jets, asubstantial amount of down time is inherently present with the manuallyadjusted `type of jet due to the fact that it must be readjused foroptimum operation relationships each time after the jet is cleaned.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a yarntexturing jet having closely controlled and fixed dimensionalrelationships and which may be assembled and disassembled for cleaningand other servicing quickly and easily without disturbing these iixeddimensional relationships.

Itis another object of this invention to provide a method of fabricatinga yarn texturing jet having fixed and closely controlled dimensionalrelationships, which method enables the production of a series of yarntexturing jets, each jet in said series having identical dimensionalrelationships, particularly between the tip of the yarn needle and theventuri or restricted oriiice.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a yarn texturingjet wherein the yarn needle is rigidly secured in a iixed position inrelation to the annular jet body and the restricted air orifice may berigidly and nonadjustably but removably secured to the annular jet bodyin a fixed and predetermined relationship to the tip of the yarn needlesuch that assembly and disassembly for cleaning and other servicing doesnot: disturb this iixed and predetermined relationship.

It is yet a further object of this invention to provide a method ofproducing a series of yarn texturing jets having interchangeable partswherein variations in dimensional relationship between the tip of theyarn needle and restricted air orifice or venturi may be accomplishedthrough use of a number of differently dimensioned venturi caps whichmay be interchangeably used with any one of a number of annular jetbodies and in which the dimensional relationships between the tip of theyarn needle and the venturi, when the venturi cap and jet body areassembled, will be substantially fixed and identical throughout a givenseries of tex-turing jets when identical venturi caps are used.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing detailed description yof a preferred embodiment thereof,reference being 4made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a viewv in perspective of the improved texturing jet of thisinvention, showing the orifice cap assembled upon the jet body and anair inlet pipe assembled thereon;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIGURE 1 andshowing, on an enlarged scale, the details of construction of thepreferred embodiment of this invention;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the annular body and hollow yarn needle ofthe texturing jet shown in FIG- URES 1 and 2, and illustrating theintegral unit prior to machining the orifice cap abutting surfaces andyarn needle tip;

FIGURE 4 schematically illustrates the step of machining the orifice capabutting surfaces of the annular jet body and the yarn needle tipillustrated in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a side view of the orifice cap included in the texturing jetshown in FIGURES 1 and 2, showing the complementarily machined innersurfaces which abut the machined surfaces of the annular jet body;

FIGURE 6 is a front view of an assembled jet body shown in FIGURE 4 andorice cap shown in FIGURE 5, this view showing the offset or spacedrelationship between the axis of the restricted air orifice and the axisof the yarn needle; and

FIGURE 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a complete yarn texturingapparatus including a takeup device, the improved texturing jet of thisinvention, and two separate supply sources of untextured yarn which areto be combined into a single textured or bulked yarn.

Referring to FIGURES 1 and 2, the improved texturing jet of thisinvention comprises an annular body 10 with an orifice cap 11 removablysecured to one end by means of two bolts or set screws 12 which extendthrough the orifice cap 1,1 and into threaded recesses 13 in the annularbody 10. The annular body 10 contains an elongated yarn needle 14 havinga radially enlarged base portion 15 which is press-tit or otherwisesecurely held within the annular body 10. The tip 16 of the yarn needle14 is of reduced diameter and extends from the main body of the yarnneed1le114 toward the open end of lthe annular body 10. The entrance tothe axial passageway within the yarn needle 114 (shown at the right ofFIGURE 2), is conical or outwardly flared to facilitate threading theuntextured yarn through the texturing jet.

The orifice cap 11 of the illustrated preferred embodiment comprises agenerally flat, disk-like cap member 17 having a central opening 18which receives an orifice insert 19 which is press-fit or otherwisesecurely held therein, as clearly shown in FIGURE 2. The orifice insert19 includes the restricted orifice throat 20 communicating withoutwardly ared passages 21 and 22 which complete the yarn and uid paththrough the orifice insert 19.

As is seen in FIGURE 2, the open end of the annular body 10 has agenerally planar outer face 23 with an annular recess 24 on its radiallyouter surface. As seen in FIGURE 5, the abutting inner face 25 of theorifice cap 11 is generally planar and is terminated by a laterallyextending, continuous outer flange 26 which cooperates with the recess24 in the outer face 23 of the annular body 10 to securely seat theorifice cap 1,1 upon the annular body 10. The bolts 12 pass through boltholes 27 and 28 in the orifice cap 11 and are threaded into the recesses13 to securely hold the orifice cap 11 upon the annular body 10. An airpipe 29, shown in FIGURE 1, is secured within a radially extending airinlet 30 in the annular body L10 and communicates with the air spacecircumjacent the yarn needle 14.

FIGURES 3 and 4 schematically show the annular body 10 and yarn needle14 as they are initially constructed prior to and during a machiningstep which is of critical importance in the method of fabricating theimproved texturing jet of this invention. FIGURE 3 schematically showsthe annular body 10 with the base portion 15 of the yarn needle 14press-fit in one end of the annular body 10. The cylindrical, annularbody 10, in this illustration designated as 10a, and the yarn needle tip16, designated in this ligure as 16a, are not shaped at this stage offabrication to their final form as illustrated in FIGURE 2. After theannular body blank 10a and yarn needle blank 14a have -been rigidlysecured to form an integral unit, as shown in FIGURE 3, the outer face23 and yarn needle tip 16 are machined by a single forming cutter F, asschematically illustrated in FIGURE 4, which forms the recess 24 andshapes and determines the length of the yarn needle tip 16. It isimportant to note that because the unitized annular body 10 and yarnneedle 14 are machined by a single forming cutter F, the dimensionalrelationships between the position of the yarn needle tip 16 and theouter face 23 of the annular body 10 will be constant for any number ofunits machined by this forming cutter F. Fabrication in this manner of aunitized annular body 10 and yarn needle 14 and shaping with a singlecutter F makes possible the production of a number of units havingfixed, predetermined and identical dimensional relationships between theyarn needle tip 16 and the outer face 23 of the annular body 10. Aspreviously stated, this provision of identical dimensional relationshipsis critical in producing a series of texturing jets having the same yarnbulking or texturing characteristics.

FIGURE 5 is a side view of the orifice cap 11 with the orifice insert 19press-fit therein. The inner face 25 of the cap member 17 is machined tobe complementary in shape to the forming cutter F, illustrated in FIGURE4. A single forming cutter complementary in shape to cutter F may beused.

The central opening 18 in the orifice cap member 17 is drilled and has adiameter large enough to receive the orifice insert 19 which ispress-fit therein. The central opening 18 is carefully positioned sothat the restricted orifice throat 20 will be in a predeterminedrelationship with the axis of the yarn needle 14. By using a suitabledrilling jig, the central opening 18 may be positioned so that it isconcentric or nonconcentric in the cap member 17, as desired, andtherefore will be coaxial or offset from the yarn needle 14 when theorifice cap 11 is secured to the annular body 10. The use of a drillingjig insures a constant dimensional relationship between the orificethroat 20 and the axis of the yarn needle 14 throughout a given seriesof jets.

After this machining operation has been completed and the orifice cap 11is ready to be removably secured to the annular body 10, the final stepin fabrication of the improved texturing jet of this invention is topress-lit the orifice insert 19 in position for uniform flow andtexturing characteristics. As previously explained, the position of theorifice throat 20 with respect to the axis of the yarn needle 14 isfixed by the location of the central opening 18. The axial distance fromthe orifice throat 20 to the tip of the yarn needle 14 is also importantand should be uniform throughout a given series of jets. This uniformityis attained by use of a fiow meter connected in series with the orificethroat 20 which, by adjustment of the axial position of the orifice cap17, will indicate the flow and texturing characteristics of that jet.Thus, a series of jets with identical ow and texturing characteristicsmay be fabricated with this method of adjustment and each one of aseries of identical orifice caps 11 will, when associated with any oneof a series of identical annular body members 10, provide the identicalamount of offset or eccentricity (and other dimensional relationships)and will therefore have the same texturing characteristics. Aspreviously stated, reproduction of an identical series of texturingjets, prior to the method of fabricating such jets disclosed in thisinvention, had been impossible and the manual adjustment proceduresnecessary to obtain uniformity of the textured yarns through a series ofsuch prior art texturing jets were unsatisfactory.

FIGURE 7 schematically illustrates a complete yarn bulking apparatusincluding the improved texturing jet of this invention. Two yarn supplypackages, 31 and 32, provide, for example, a source of core yarn 33 andeffect yarn 34. Yarns 33 and 34 are drawn upwardly over guiding andtension rollers 3S and 36 by pairs of feed rolls 37, 38 and 39, 40.Motor and control means 41 and 42 provide a variable speed control ofthe feed rolls 37, 38 and 39, 4t), respectively. The feed speed of thecore yarn 33 and effect yarn 34 may be variably adjusted in relation toeach other and in relation to the takeup speed of the bulked compositeyarn 43. The core yarn 33 and effect yarn 34 are passed through a seriesof guide eyes 44, 45 and 46 which lead the core and effect yarns 33 and34 to the improved texturing jet of this invention which is suppliedwith air under pressure through the air pipe 29. The bulked, compositeyarn 43 leaving the texturing jet is passed around a guide wheel 47,past a conventional traversing device 48 which directs the yarn back andforth across the package 49. A constant yarn takeup speed is obtained bydriving the yarn package 49 rby frictional contact with a power roll 50which is driven by a driving mechanism 51. The increased diameter of thepackage 49 from the buildup of yarn does not increase the takeup speeddue to the fact that the power for driving the package 49 is derivedsolely from frictional Contact with the surface of the yarn itself bythe power roll 50.

An important parameter in controlling the amount of bulking of thecomposite yarn 43 is the relationship of the feed speed of the core yarn33 and the effect yarn 34 to the takeup speed of the bulked, compositeyarn 43. With the takeup speed approximately the same as the feed speedof the core yarn 33 and effect yarn 34, no bulking or texturing of thecomposite yarn is accomplished. When, however, the core and effect yarns33 and 34 are delivered to the texturing jet at a higher rate than therate of takeup, convolutions are formed in the effect yarn 34 and to acertain extent in the core yarn 33 by the air turbulence which whips andwhorls them as they leave the tip of the yarn needle 14 within theimproved texturing jet of this invention. The larger the overfeed of thecore and effect yarns 33 and 34, the more bulky or convoluted is thecomposite yarn 43. Furthermore, it is possible, by intermittentlyvarying the rate of overfeed of the core and effect yarns 33 and 34, toproduce intermittently bulked or textured areas which occur at intervalsbetween areas of unbulked or untextured yarn. Such intermittent bulkedareas are schematically illustrated in FIGURE 7, as indicated byreference numeral 52.

As previously stated, the dimensional relationships between thecomponents of the texturing jet, particularly the distance between theaxes of the yarn needle 14 and the orifice throat are of criticalimportance in producing a composite, bulked yarn of desiredcharacteristics. Because there are many variables which must beaccurately controlled in producing such yarns, it is the primary objectof the improved texturing jet of this invention to accurately andpositively provide uniformity of the dimensional relationships mentionedabove within each one of a series of identical texturing jets. Thus,with such standardized jets, a given bulked yarn may be producedthroughout a series of texturing installations such as thatschematically shown in FIGURE 7 through use of identical texturing jetsand the identical adjustment of the feed speed of the core and effectyarns 33 and 34 in relation to the takeup speed of the bulked compositeyarn 43. As previously stated, such dimensional identity has beenimpossible to accomplish using manually adjustable jets known in theprior art. Furthermore, such jets must be periodically cleaned andserviced which therefore previously required the tedious and timeconsuming task of readjustment after every such servicing. An inherentadvantage in the improved unitized jet of this invention is the factthat it may be assembled and disassembled by the operator of thetexturing apparatus quickly and conveniently by removal and replacementof the bolts 12 which hold the orifice cap 11 to the annular body 16.Because these pieces are accurately machined to mate with one another ina pre-established relationship, there is no adjustment needed subsequentto cleaning or other servicing. It may be desirable t0 provide theadjacent surfaces 23 and 25 of the annular body 10 and the orifice cap11 with complementarily shaped male and female indexing means to assurerapid and easy positioning by the operator. Such positive actingindexing means are less susceptible to misalignment than would be visualindicia on each part to indicate proper position. Furthermore, themethod of fabricating such jets provides for identical reproduction ofeach jet within a given series, an advantage which was unobtainable withtexturing jets known in the prior art.

Various modifications of the above described preferred embodiment of theinvention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and it is to beunderstood that such modifications can be made without departing fromthe scope of the invention, if within the spirit and tenor of theaccompanying claims.

I claim:

1. A fiuid nozzle for treating a textile product comprising acylindrical hollow body member having a peripheral sidewall and aclosure at one end defining a cylindrical fluid cavity therein, a yarninlet opening into said body member, a yarn guide integral with Vsaidbody member extending from said yarn inlet opening axially through saidcavity and terminating in a tip having a yarn outlet projecting apredetermined distance beyond and a predetermined distance laterallyfrom the open end edges of the peripheral wall of said body member, acap member shaped for mated association with said edges of the bodymember including a projecting portion eccentrically disposed in andextending a predetermined distance beyond the inner face of said capmember, said projecting portion having a yarn and Huid passage extendingthrough said cap member, said passage through said projecting portionhaving a converging entrance extending into said cavity and into whichthe tip of said yarn guide with its yarn outlet projects when the innerface of said cap member and said edges of the body member are secured inabutting relation to one another, the distance of projection of said tipinto said converging passage entrance being equal to the sum of (l) thedistance of projection of the yarn guide beyond said edges of the bodymember and (2) the distance of extension of said projecting portionbeyond the inner face of said cap member, said yarn and fluid passagepositioned in said cap member with its axis laterally spaced apredetermined distance from the axis of the cylindrical fluid cavity ofsaid hollow body member.

2. A uid nozzle for fluid treating a textile product comprising incombination, a hollow cylindrical member with an axial boretherethrough, a yarn guide comprising an elongate hollow needlecoaxially positioned within said bore of said cylindrical member andhaving a tip of reduced diameter and an enlarged concentric end portionintegrally secured into one end of the hollow cylindrical member withthe tip of said yarn needle extending a first predetermined distancebeyond the other end of said cylindrical member, a cap member having aninner face complementally shaped for engagement with said other end ofsaid cylindrical member and secured upon said other end, an apertureextending through said cap in a direction parallel to the axis of saidcylindrical member, the axis of said cap aperture laterally spaced asecond predetermined distance from the axis of said hollow cylindricalmember with the diameter of said cap aperture being smaller than thediameter of said axial bore in said cylindrical member, a lluid orificehaving a cylindrical body press tit within said cap aperture,eccentrically disposed with respect to said cap member, and extending athird predetermined distance into the axial bore of said hollow body,said fluid orifice having a flared passage converging to a restrictedopening extending axially through said cylindrical orilice body withsaid ared passage eircumjacent the tip of reduced diameter of saidhollow yarn needle whereby said yarn needle tip extends into said flaredpassage by the sum of said irst and third predetermined distances andwhereby the axes of said restricted opening in said fluid orifice and ofsaid yarn needle are laterally spaced apart said second predetermineddistance.

3. A fluid nozzle for treating a textile product comprising acylindrical hollow body member having a peripheral sidewall and aclosure at one end defining a cylindrical fluid cavity therein, a yarninlet opening into said body member, a hollow yarn guide extending fromsaid yarn inlet opening through said cylindrical cavity and terminatingin a tip having its axis coincident with the axis of said iluid cavityand projecting a predetermined distance beyond the end edges of theperipheral Wall of said body member, a cap member having an inner faceshaped for mated association with said end edges of the body memberincluding a projecting portion eccentrically disposed in and extending apredetermined distance beyond said inner face of said cap member, saidprojecting portion having a yarn and uid outlet passage extendingthrough said cap member, said outlet passage through said projectingportion having a converging entrance into which the tip of said yarnguide projects when the inner face of said cap member and said end edgesof the body member are secured in abutting relation to one another, thedistance of projection of said tip into said converging entrance beingequal to the sum of (1) the distance of projection of the yarn guide tipbeyond said end edges of the body member and (2) the distance 0fextension of said projecting portion beyond the inner face of said capmember, said yarn and fluid outlet passage positioned in said cap memberwith its axis laterally spaced a predetermined distance from the axis ofsaid hollow yarn guide.

4. A iiuid nozzle for fluid treating a textile product comprising incombination, a hollow cylindrical member with an axial boretherethrough, a yarn guide comprising an elongate hollow needlecoaxially positioned within said bore of said cylindrical member andhaving a tip and an enlarged concentric end portion integrally securedinto one end of the hollow cylindrical member with the tip of said yarnneedle extending a first predetermined axial distance beyond the otherend of said cylindrical member, a cap member having an inner facecomplementally shaped for engagement with said other end of saidcylindrical member and secured upon said other end, an apertureextending through said cap member in a direction parallel to the axis ofsaid cylindrical member, the axis of said cap aperture spaced a secondpredetermined radial distance from the axis of said hollow cylindricalmember, a tluid orilice within said cap aperture eccentrically disposedwith respect to said cap member, said iluid orifice having a flaredpassage converging to a restricted opening extending axially throughsaid orifice body with said flared passage circurnjacent the tip of saidhollow yarn needle with said yarn needle tip extending into said flaredpassage lby said first preetermined distance and whereby the axes ofsaid restricted opening in said iiuid orice and of said yarn needle arelaterally spaced apart by said second predetermined distance.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,194,565 3/1940 Moss 57-342,392,882 1/1946 Roberts 57-34 2,683,625 7/1954 Fisher 23:9*600 XR2,693,844 11/1954 Bay 28-72 2,733,869 2/1956 Bunch 57-34 3,055,0809/1962 Claussen et al. 28-1 3,097,412 7/1963 Becher 28-1 3,110,95011/1963 Yamamoto 28-1 3,202,747 8/1965 SOehngen 28--72 3,251,181 5/1966Breen et al. 28-72 3,262,177 7/1966 Cobb et al 28-1 ROBERT R. MACKEY,Primary Examiner'.

